TARDIS Malfunction
by TheIrishClvr
Summary: On their way back to Earth the TARDIS encountered a malfunction. It fell to the nearest island and crashed. The Doctor knew they were in present time but had no idea where they were. They found themselves on a deserted island with over 40 castaways and


The Doctor awoke to a jerking. He sat up slowly as the TARDIS jerked again. "ROSE!" he called pulling on his robe. When he entered the console room she was already there, mostly dressed, the button up shirt that she had on only buttoned half way. The Doctor did his best to hide any reaction he may have to the glimpse of her skin that he may have.

"What did you do?"

"Nuffin'. I was just gettin' dressed I didn't do anythin' I swear."

The Doctor nodded taking a look at the Console. There was no reason not to believe her, even though they should just be floating in the vortex. "We're going to have to land. The TARDIS is set to go to the nearest mass. Watch, don't touch anything." He pointed at her and fixed her with a stern look.

Rose nodded, though she wasn't sure she could really do anything anyway. She had been telling the truth, she didn't know the first thing about the TARDIS, so why would she try to make it go anywhere. She had been thinking about passed events, the most recent ones to be exact. She had requested one last trip alone with him before Mickey was to join them.

The Doctor returned in his usual suit he had not been long. "Nearly there." He stated as the TARDIS jerked again as it crashed, almost as if on cue.

Rose rolled her eyes at the proud look on his face. "So where is there, exactly?"

Current time it seems, some sort of island there's something messing with the circuits, "I can't tell anymore. I suppose the best way to find out is to explore, wouldn't you agree, Rose?"

Rose followed the Doctor out the door with a smile on her face, his smiles always seemed to be a bit contagious. She was almost surprised to step out onto a beach. "Well, this is refreshing."

He smiled again as he surveyed the beach always a smile on this new face of his, mostly when he was around Rose. Not far, two men could be seen. They appeared to be building something. "Shall we?" he asked offering his hand she laughed slightly, took it and they ran the distance between themselves and the men.

****

Charlie looked up as he heard footsteps, thump, thump, thumping on the ground coming toward Eko and himself. He looked up to see a man and a woman approaching.

"Hello," the man greeted walking hand in hand with a blond female.

Charlie frowned, "Where did you two come from?"

The Doctor wasn't sure what to say other then the truth. What would it really hurt just this once. "I'm the Doctor and this is Rose. We're just traveler's, our ship sort of… well crash landed just down the beach, there," the Doctor answered finally.

Charlie looked in the direction that the man and woman had come from wonder what he would find, or how it came to be on the Island. He could see what looked like a police call box. Well that sure as hell hadn't been there before. "You wouldn't mind following me would you? Down the beach in the woods a little…" he asked looking to Eko, for guidance, who nodded at him.

The Doctor smiled and with a squeeze of reassurance to Rose's hand, "By all means lead the way." He noticed the guarded look on his companions face.  
"It will be all right," he whispered for her ears only.

"I know," she whispered back yet she still had an uneasy feeling about the whole situation. Charlie led them to the hatch hoping against hope that Locke would be nowhere near. Locke was the last person he ever wanted to see again. He wanted to be sure that these two were trustworthy but one couldn't be two careful after the events that had just come to pass these past few days.

"Jack?"  
"What is it Charlie?" Jack asked coming out from washing his hands.  
"We have visitors," and with that Charlie explained what had happened as short as the story was.  
Jack nodded at all that had been told to him and Charlie's suggestion. "We should go check out this… ship, if it isn't too far out as you say," Jack moved to leave.

When he was out of range Rose asked, "Is he alright?" as they followed him out the door, but more slowly.

"A lot has happened."

"I think sharing explanations would be best kept for later, Rose."

Charlie nodded in agreement, there was something about this man that was familiar, but Charlie could not place what it was exactly.

Rose wanted to ask so many questions but she knew that she could not. She did recognize this man leading them. "What is your name?" she asked, "I mean we told you ours."

"I'm Charlie Pace."

"I thought you were familiar, you were in that rock band! I used you listen to you all the time!" Rose exclaimed and smiled at the Doctor, her expression triumphant.

"You listened to Drive Shaft?" he asked surprised.

"All the time," she repeated. "I always loved it… sat up all night, drove my mother bonkers…"

"Now that would be a sight to see! Though I wonder would it be much different then the regular Jackie Tyler?" the Doctor mused which earned him a smack on the back of his head.

"Didn't know we were that good," Charlie said after the Doctor's comment, blushed at her compliment and laughed at their behavior.

"I imagine to some you weren't, but I thought you guys were amazing, I really loved most of the words…"

"Most of the songs were written by me… a huge majority…" Rose smiled she hadn't expected him to be the typical crazed rock star, she had been sure he would be bettter, and did she love being right.

They approached the TARDIS which Jack thought could very well be just another toy that the others had to play with. He didn't want to be hasty and make a decision yet though. "Where did this come from?"

"It's how we got here. The TARDIS, isn't she beautiful? She's not working at the moment, had a malfunction, not sure what caused it to be honest."

Jack nodded that was easy enough to believe he supposed, the Island did that sort of thing to electronics, which was what this… ship appeared to be.  
"Would you care to look inside?" the Doctor opened the door, waiting until both men entered before he and Rose followed.

"It's bigger on the inside."

Rose smiled remembering the shock and wonder when she had first entered the TARDIS, granted they had been running from a plastic version of her boyfriend with no head.

"So what is it?" Jack asked, inspecting the room.

"My TARDIS. Time and Relative Dimensions in Space."

"A ship and a time machine, how is that possible?"

"I'm a time lord," there was no going back now. It didn't matter if they believe him the truth was important if he was going to get any help repairing his ship, which he feared he might need.

"A what?"

"'e's an alien. 'e can prove it, too."

"Does he turn green or drink with his finger or anything, maybe sit on his head?"

The Doctor looked at Jack perplexed, "No, just two hearts, not that different from you. I am half human… on my mother's side."

Jack shook his head taking this all in, "At this point, I find it hard to disbelieve anything…"

The Doctor smiled, "I'll need time to get it fixed, but I suppose that goes without saying. Maybe some help, as well, I could do it on my own but it would take longer. What exactly happened to you?"

"Our plane crashed, basically. The plane was supposed to be on it's way to LA but the pilot said that they had gotten off course. We don't really know how it happened, something about this Island. Radio's and cell phones don't really work here. The Island is complete with people who were here before us that kill, kidnap, and terrorize us."

The Doctor nodded once again, "They could feel as though you are trespassing. I think if I get this fixed I might be able to help you get off the Island. I don't want you to get too excited, it might not be possible, in which case we should keep this in a small group. Is there someone that can help me? Someone who knows technology?"

"Sayid, he fixed a radio that we found. He knows more about this then most, and he's trustworthy, so he won't go talking to anyone that he shouldn't."

"Charlie can keep Rose company, she seems to have taken a shine to him," he tried to hide any jealousy he might feel in cheeriness, because that's what he was best at.

Rose smiled and shook her head, she knew him too well to let him get away with that. He had been jealous of Jack, though he would never admit it, before that their had been Adam, and of course he had always been jealous of Mickey, always messing up his name. "Right, you can introduce me to people, Charlie. I'm sure we'll be here for a while. If not then I'm sure a walk would be fantastic."

Charlie agreed and led the way, he could tell there was a tension of sorts between the Doctor and Rose.

"Don't wait up, Doctor," Rose teased as they left the TARDIS.

The Doctor just smiled, "Shall we go to Sayid?"

"That seems to be a good idea, I'm Jack."

"Jack," the Doctor nodded, "so very many of them out there."

***

"So what's 'appening in the life of a stranded rock star?" she asked him. It almost sounded like the title of a bad TV show, "Any girlfriends to speak of?"

"No not really. There had been someone, she was an amazing woman. We were close friends, I helped her with her baby. It had been progressing toward more, or I thought it had. Nothing really turns out the way you want it to."

"What 'appened? Did she know 'ow you felt?"

"No, but I showed her what she meant to me. I killed someone to protect her; I nearly died for her. If Jack had not gotten there when he did; if he had given up on me…" Charlie shook his head none of that mattered now, he had made it past that. All he had to show for trying to protect the woman he loved was a scar around his neck. "I'd done countless things, but in the end it didn't matter, I made a mistake. She thought I was using, she didn't trust me, couldn't trust in me enough to believe that I wasn't. Now she won't even talk to me. It's almost like I meant nothing to her."

"I'm sorry Charlie, so much has happened. What's stopping you from trying to talk to her. Don't you want to know what she's thinking?"

"John Locke, a man I don't care to ever see again. He had been helping me, guiding me and then he abandoned me. He's not really with her as much as he could be, but when he is… There's always someone there, and they need to believe that I don't deserve another chance, that I'm not good enough. I took her baby, but only because I wanted to protect him. This Island, it does things to you, causes you to see important things. They didn't believe me, they thought it was just the drugs. I love them both, I just wanted to keep him safe and she didn't care. Now I can't even…" Charlie stopped and took a deep breath. "But what about you and the Doctor? I noticed there was something there. The way you stood so close together. How you looked at him."

Rosh blushed and smiled, "I love 'im. I think he's afraid to give in. 'e's a Timelord, not human, though according to him he partly is, first I heard of it, by the way. Things are different for him. I think 'e's afraid that if 'e gives in 'e'll lose me," she told him seriously with the speech the Doctor had given her running through her head, it wouldn't leave. "But I 'ave an idea. I think we can 'elp each other. The Doctor was jealous of you, 'ow about we go for making them both jealous?"

"I think it might work, but it could also get me into worse trouble."

"Charlie, we should make 'er realize what she's givenup. That's what must be done. I mean yes, time is a good thing, I travel with the Lord of Time, but not everyone has all that much time. It could all end tomorrow and you could never get your chance."

"I think you may be right. You're a very clever woman Rose."


End file.
